New build: what is different about selling off plan
Off plan you sell a promise with a schedule, not a finished property. The buyer pays in stages tied to completion and carries the risk of delay. The broker’s job is to explain the stages in plain words, state the risks in advance, and run eighty units without losing track of what is free.
The stages, explained simply
Buyers hear "act 14" and nod without knowing what it means. The explanation that works runs through what can still change and what no longer can.
- Shell and core. The walls exist, the layout can still be altered. Lowest price, highest risk.
- Act 14. The building is accepted at shell stage. From here the unit is defined and can be transferred.
- Act 15. Construction complete, occupancy permit pending. Layout changes are now expensive.
- Act 16. Occupancy permit. You can live there and register utilities.
Payments usually follow these stages. The earlier the buyer enters, the lower the price and the longer they carry the risk.
What buyers ask and rarely get answered
Exactly when. "End of next year" is not an answer. Ask the developer for a specific month and pass it on with the caveat that construction slips.
What happens on a delay. Is there a penalty in the contract and from which month does it run. If there is none, that is information the buyer should hear from you rather than discover alone.
What the price includes. Plastered and screeded, or turnkey. Is the parking space in, is the storage in. This is where most disputes are born.
Who the developer is and what they have built. The buyer is entitled to ask, and you have an interest in knowing the answer.
The risks stated upfront
The temptation is not to raise the subject. That is a mistake that comes back at the notary.
Delay is normal and happens nearly always — better the buyer hears it from you with a caveat than experiences it as a surprise. Design changes during construction also happen. Resale value before act 16 is lower, and not every bank lends at every stage.
Said at the start, these things make the broker reliable. Left unsaid, they make the broker culpable.
How to run a building with eighty units
Here the problem is different: not finding a buyer, but not getting confused.
Eighty flats, each in one of four states — free, reserved, deposit paid, sold. Plus parking spaces and storage sold separately and combined in different ways.
A spreadsheet holds up to around twenty units. After that come the double reservations: two brokers promise the same flat on the same day, and somebody has to call a client and take their word back.
At that point the spreadsheet stops being a tool and becomes a source of errors.
What works is an interactive plan of the building where the status is visible to the whole team the moment it changes. The buyer sees what is free, the broker sees what is promised, and the developer sees how far sales have got — without asking anyone.
Frequently asked questions
From which stage is it sensible to buy?
It depends on risk tolerance. The lowest prices are at shell stage, but that is where the gap between promise and result is widest. A buyer who cannot absorb a six-month delay should not buy before act 15.
Who pays the commission on new build?
Usually the developer, since the agency is selling their product. Tell the buyer — it is an advantage and there is no reason to hide it.
Can you get a mortgage off plan?
You can, but not at every stage and not with every bank. Conditions depend on completion and on the developer. Check with the bank before the client pays a deposit.
The OptiEstate teamWe build the software Bulgarian agencies use every day. We write about what we see there.
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